Residents Return to Restored Dorm Rooms

Date:February 7, 2013

Oceanview Hall residents in all but four of the nine rooms affected by Saturday’s fire have been resettled into their repaired quarters, University officials said Thursday. No one was injured; all residents were safely evacuated.

Within four hours of the fire, which was confined to one room on the sixth floor north, restoration crews were on the scene to repair smoke and water damage. President and Mrs. Fleming toured the hall Sunday evening to inspect the damage and the progress of repairs. Residents of the damaged rooms were housed at a local hotel.

The work crew’s initial focus was on damage mitigation by extracting the water from carpets and placing dehumidification equipment throughout the affected areas. From there, an inventory of each affected rooms contents was performed. The carpeting in the three most affected rooms was removed as was the lower two feet of drywall and insulation to complete drying. Bathroom vanities are being removed and any other damaged materials are being appropriately cleaned or replaced as necessary. Smoke residue in the hallway walls and ceilings and affected rooms has been removed through a multi-step process.

The contents of the rooms are being hand-cleaned or, in the case of clothing and textiles, appropriately laundered. Paper goods such as books and notebooks are being treated with a freeze drying method, which is largely successful in restoring these to use. All items that are not salvageable will be noted on the inventory, photographed and appropriately destroyed and/or discarded.

The University is in contact with insurance adjusters. Officials estimate that the remaining repairs will take two weeks to complete.